Backstage at Sleeping Beauty 2010

Finally, after so many weeks of rehearsing and months of planning, Sleeping Beauty opened tonight to a huge, enthusiastic audience who witnessed a near-miraculously smooth production. So many dancers, crew, musicians, sets, costumes, wigs, special effects, supers, children in this ballet– it’s amazing to me every time a production like this comes together. But it always does, beautifully and with grandeur, emotional resonance, and exhilaration.

Here is a quick peek at a couple of the people backstage who make the magic happen:
Diane, one of the women overseeing the many, many wigs and hairpieces in this production, checks her craftsmanship:

There is also a fair amount of special makeup for different characters in Sleeping Beauty. Sarah is our makeup artist, transforming people into their stage personas. Here’s her workstation.